Stanley Fish’s Clique: Academics Against Renewable Wind Sources

Fish isn't one of those carbon footprint-fearing academics who makes sure that every conference has a fair trade totebag (even, as Fish would point out, as the graduate students are paid a "stipend"—a.k.a. less than a living wage). This group says no to wind turbines. And sometimes they throw plastic in garbage cans and leave our cars running while we run into the market. Their favorite building materials: Styrofoam and disposable diapers. And they don't like wind turbines because they are ugly. They have real estate values to worry about!

Stanley Fish

Naturally, Stanley is the founding member. Although he does occasionally use Tupperware instead of stretch-title plastic wrap, he too is opposed to the wind turbines. They tell PETA it's because of bird deaths (which is true), but it's also just a blot on the panorama of Fish's delightful little hometown of Andes, New York. He's investigating power stations, hydroelectrics, nuclear power, or coal as options. Because he welcomes a good robust debate, he has two members of the opposition on the board.

Simon Estok

This English professor is a scholar of ecostudies. Politics alert! As long as he doesn't cite Al Gore more than once in their weekly meetings, he gets to stay on the board. He takes ethics seriously and he has a deep affection for the natural world, so he can get behind Fish's aesthetic argument against wind turbine—Fish just can't get him on board with the whole nuclear power plant option.

Lawrence Buell

Lawrence seriously flirts with ideological preaching in the classroom, but he's from Harvard, so how bad can he be? Fish also likes him because he forged the field of ecocriticism, and Stanley is a fan of pioneers of any thinking—they're the most passionate.